One spring, a 5-year-old girl named Ting arrived from China to join her mother, Chunlan, a doctoral student at a university in the northeastern United States. Ting was so happy to be with her mother, and was particularly excited that she would now be able to go to school. Not all of the children could go to school in the village where she grew up.

After Ting received her inoculations, her mother registered her for school. With an enthusiasm almost equal to her mother's, Ting set off for school, carrying her new backpack as she confidently climbed onto the school bus. Although she could not speak any English, Ting wasn't worried; her mother was told an interpreter would be available at school. Chunlan was happy her daughter would finally receive the Western education that many Chinese dream of obtaining. Ting really liked to go to school; it was fun to play games, even though she could not communicate. However, each day on the bus ride home, other children would throw shoes at her, spit on her, pull her hair, or call her "stupid." Ting did not even understand what they were saying until she repeated the word "stupid" to her mother. Ting was the victim of bullying.

By the time Ting was 9 years old, she had become a very good student. She had learned English, increased her reading ability to a 6th-grade level, and had the math skills of a 7th-grader. She enjoyed learning and was especially fond of writing poems. Her mother finished her doctoral degree and graduated. The family moved to another college town in the Midwest. Ting was excited about going to a new school. For her first day, Ting decided tobring dumplings, one of her favorite foods, for lunch. As soon as she entered the school, she realized she was the only Asian child. Still, she was excited for an opportunity to make new friends. The classes were interesting. She could not wait for lunch time as she thought about her favorite food in her lunchbox. As soon as she opened her lunchbox, however, a crowd of students laughed at her. One said, "Japanese people use sticks for food."

"I am not Japanese, I am a Chinese," Ting responded.

The other student mocked her: "Dig a hole in the backyard, it will go to China." "She is from the other side of the earth . . . HA."

Ting sadly closed her lunchbox and did not touch her favorite meal. No adult intervened to stop the verbal bullying. One week later, Ting was pushed purposely (according to witnesses) on the playground, sustaining a cut over her eyebrow that needed four stitches. Chunlan received a phone call from school as her daughter lay in the emergency room. The child who bullied her did not even say "sorry." Ting's family had not been notified about any bullying until the hospital incident.

Chunlan could not believe it. She was convinced this would never have happened in her village in China among such a young group of children. She was shocked that the teacher did not take the bullying seriously and never informed her that it was occurring.

Is it true that this incident would not happen among such young students in mainland China? Schools in the United States are developing anti-bullying programs as students and parents complain of unwelcome teasing, bullying, and intimidating behavior. Are the United States and other western countries the only places where these appalling behaviors are occurring? Literature on bullying in China is scarce. In 2000, Zhan Wenxin of Shandong Teachers' University, People's Republic of China, along with Kein Jones from the University College Worcester, UK, presented a paper on their pioneer research in bullying among 4,000 Chinese students ages 9-15. They learned that bullying did not occur in schools in China, but instead occurred as children traveled to and from school (Wenxin & Jones, 2004). In China, older students often go home for lunch, but spend recess periods at school in teacher-directed physical activity. Wong (2004) reported a rise in bullying in Hong Kong, but again it was with older students.

To determine the existence of a problem with bullying in younger Chinese children, such as Ting encountered in her first U.S. school experience, the authors of this article conducted a study. Our sample included 40 randomly selected, early childhood educators serving children ages 2 through 6, located in 10 different urban school settings along the Yangzi River. We interviewed teachers to find out how they handled situations such as Ting's and how they designed their program to help change inappropriate bullying behavior (Arndt & Luo, 2007).

Exploring Bullying in Mainland China

The Chinese Ministry of Education mandates a standard curriculum that all kindergartens must follow (in China, kindergarten covers ages 18 months to 6 years). Three main sets of textbooks are available that contain the standard curriculum. The local Bureau of Education decides which one of the three books to implement. The textbooks contain curriculum for five academic subjects: health, science, mathematics, arts, and Chinese language. Teachers implementing the health curriculum are guided to teach the basic concepts of health improvement. One component of that curriculum is social-emotional well-being.

Beginning With the Transition From Home to School

After the authors qualitatively analyzed the interview data, several themes emerged. The first theme dealt with actions in the transition from home to school. In China, early childhood educators provide a very nurturing environment for their students in their classrooms, in order to foster social-emotional health. They accommodate families' needs, so that, for example, if children need to be brought to school earlier than the scheduled time, the teacher will be available to receive them. If parents have difficulty getting their children to school, teachers sometimes may even go to the homes and bring the children to school themselves. Teachers work diligently to convince parents they will provide for their children's entire well-being. They explain to parents that they want their children to feel as comfortable in school as they do at home. If a child is at home with an illness, a teacher will stop by to visit the child and bring the work that was covered at school. If a particular child has grandparents who do not live locally and a father who travels, then a teacher will be assigned to spend a half hour or more with that child each day.

Children who have difficulty making the transition are often assigned to one teacher who cares for them and deals with their issues. Sometimes, a teacher will suggest that parents bring their child to school earlier than the usual start time so that she can handle more of the child's basic needs. We found a common theme to be that if children are made to feel welcome and comfortable in a structured environment, they will adjust to school and the other students. When they are adjusted, they will feel happy and be willing to work with each other. The use of supportive and encouraging language also is important to the transition process. The teachers we interviewed believed that preventing negative behavior was extremely important for the wellbeing of the children and the school environment.

Designing the Classroom To Promote Social-Emotional Weil-Being

According to our findings, teachers reported that socialemotional well-being first must be addressed in order for students to learn and develop. The Chinese say that "the first goal is to raise a healthy person instead of a great man." A great man refers to a hero in history, who can greatly impact society. Even if a child cannot eventually rise to that level, he or she can be an emotionally healthy person. Teachers recognize that children have different emotional needs that must be met individually. Teachers' methods include having conversations with children and helping them work through situations when they are feeling upset or angry. Children are recognized for their accomplishments and encouraged to continue to make good behavioral choices. In 2001, the Minister of Education stated that "the first goal of kindergarten is to provide safety and health education for young children" (Hu, 2008). He clarified that the correct concept of health included both physical and emotional aspects.

Teachers' Strategies To Help Children Feel That They Belong

A third theme found in our interview data centered on the structure of the school organization and daily activities. The school day is designed very deliberately. Parents or caregivers deliver their children to school and are not allowed back at the school until school is over. The day has a specific routine (a sample schedule for children ages 3 to 5 is shown in Figure 1).

Children are picked up from school around 4:30 to 5:00 p.m. in the winter and 5:30 p.m. in the summer. The children leave the elementary school at 11:30 a.m. to go home for lunch and return to school between 1:30 to 2:00 in winter and spring. In the summer and fall, they return at 3:00 p.m.

Teachers provide direct instruction and are involved in all aspects of the children's day, thus leaving little room for times when overt bullying behavior could occur. It is interesting to note that young children in China seldom fight over toys. They are assigned to play with a certain toy at school and are not free to choose their toy.

Several themes emerged from the interviews regarding differences among children. Although most of the children were Han, the majority ethnic group in China, differences in economic status among them needed to be addressed. In one-on-one encounters, some teachers attempt to have the students "put themselves in the shoes of their peers." Another teacher suggested children talk with a "zhi xing jie jie," which means a "heart to heart sister." A teacher may function in this role. Starting in elementary school, teachers have specific teaching roles, such as music teacher, math teacher, Chinese language teacher, and so forth. Children stay in the same room and teachers move from room to room, according to their specialty. However, one teacher in each classroom bonds with the students in that class. Students share their concerns with that teacher, who becomes a "heart to heart sister." When children are causing problems, they may not understand the issues involved; in these instances, their teacher helps them appreciate how their actions affected other children.

In China, teachers loop with their children. For example, when the children enter the school, they are assigned a math teacher. That math teacher moves with the children to the next year. Often, the math teacher stays with the children throughout their elementary career. This same procedure is reported for each major subject area. Looping allows teachers to know their children and their needs very well.

Teachers believe that looping also helps children feel more emotionally secure, because they build long-term relationships with their teachers. Some teachers reported that it was important to find out what behaviors bother the target child and then try to help that child solve his or her problems. Most classrooms have a classroom monitor who serves as the role model and helps children make good behavioral choices. If a child is having a very difficult time, the parents are informed at pick-up time. Rules for, and examples of, good behaviors are posted in the classroom. Parents are expected to reinforce the teachers' suggestions. Teachers design their classrooms to be supportive of the students, with the idea that when students' needs are met, they will be happy and cooperative.

In China, teachers and peers are expected to provide additional care and support when a child experiences tragedy at home. Teachers talk with those children more often and encourage their classmates to attend to their troubled peers in more deliberate ways. Expressing more concern and showing the troubled children that they are loved by all helps those children to better cope with their situation. It is thought that by giving extra attention to those children, they will develop to be emotionally healthy like the other children. It is also believed that this extra protectiveness helps children feel special and keeps them from taking their frustrations out on others.

In our sample, teachers had varying opinions on the age that children should begin accepting responsibility for their actions. While some teachers felt that children could assume responsibility once they understood oral language (around 18 months of age), almost half felt that age 3 was appropriate. The remainder believed that age 5 or older was a more realistic expectation for accepting responsibility for actions and behavior.

Parents' Roles in Guiding Their Children

Several themes emerged from the data regarding parents' roles in guiding their children. Teachers felt that, for the most part, parents had the same desires as they did for their children to develop a healthy, social-emotional well-being. However, the way that parents expressed and shared their concerns was different. Parents tended to focus more on instances of fairness/unfairness to their children. They often did not know how to handle misbehavior. Since parents were often willing to follow the teacher's lead and recommendations, teachers found that they had to provide parent training on child-rearing, usually through such informal means as a home visit, posters on the school's walls, or in a newsletter. Sometimes, parents were told to order special parenting magazines. Parents accepted and respected the teachers' suggestions because parents believed that the teachers' education enabled them to know what was best for children. According to traditional Chinese culture, teachers are viewed as having more authority than parents. "SiZhang," meaning "respected teacher," is an important concept in China. Parents also believed that if they followed the teachers' instructions, their children would do better academically. Parent conferences provided additional opportunities to provide parents with skills.

In the course of our study, one researcher interviewed 11 mothers regarding their perspectives of their parental role. All families had three members: mother, father, and child; both adults in the families worked. At night, the parents tried to spend as much time as possible with their children. These parents wanted their children to study hard and be useful in society. This sample of parents greatly valued an individual's contribution to society. At home before bed, the parents talked with their children about daily behavior. They scolded children for bad behavior and praised good behavior. Following Chinese tradition, these parents reinforced behavioral lessons taught at school, believing it to be in the children's best interest. Thus, the mothers' responses paralleled the teachers' beliefs about parents' roles.

Conclusion

Young children in China are intentionally taught how to be good citizens and get along with others. The structure of the school organization and daily activities contributes to the formation of children's behavior. Teachers' close supervision and direct instruction focus children on making the right choice for the good of society. Rarely, then, do instances of bullying occur. In addition, children are highly trained to respect their teacher and to do what the teacher says.

When Ting was in 3rd grade, she returned to China to visit a school in the country for 100 days to experience the Chinese New Year, as well as a Chinese school. At first, she did not want to go to another new school. As Ting and her mother entered the school, however, the classroom teacher was waiting for them. Her mother let the teacher hold Ting's hand and left, as parents are not allowed to stay. The teacher led Ting to the classroom. Ting was scared as she faced 50 students in the classroom looking at her. The teacher said, "Ting lived overseas for a few years; now she has come back home and will be with us for three months. How can we help her?" The boys and girls responded by saying, "Be her friend, help her with homework, bring a snack to share with her, play Ping Pong with her, walk her home." When Ting's mother picked her up to go home for lunch, she was shocked that over 10 children surrounded Ting to walk her home. She was so happy that she had made so many friends in few hours.

The teacher indirectly gave the message to the students that Ting was a valued child and that it was the students' responsibility, along with the teacher's, to make Ting feel that she belonged. The expectations were set and the children responded positively to the teacher's lead. Although this is only one example, the findings from our study indicate that both families' and schools' structure and expectations contribute to the promotion of social-emotional health, and work to prevent bullying among the young children of China. Future research should further explore these relationships to identify key characteristics that may be used preventively on a larger scale that transcends culture.